Prefabricated house construction



March 17, 1970 D. MCKENZIE 3,500,597

PREFABRICATED HOUSE CONSTRUCTION Filed April 25, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig 8 "52 52 52"52 w Duane McKenzie 54 INVENTOR.

Fig .9

I8 9 W BY so 60 58 /WM"? March 17, 1970 0. M KENZIE PREFABRICATED HOUSE CONSTRUCTION Filed April 25, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Duane Mc Kenzie IN VENTOR.

March 17, 1970 Filed April 25, 1968 o. MCKENZIE 3,500,597

PREFABRICATED HOUSE CONSTRUCTION 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig. 3

,4 T N 26 2a r N [Y O 5 5 6 6 was Fig.4 Q

////II/ Duane McKenzie -32 INVENTOR. I 9 538 BY Wi wam March 17, 1970 Mc z v 3,500,597

PREFABRICATED HOUSE CONSTRUCTION Filed April 25, 196B I 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fig. 5

I'll/I1 Duane McKenzie IN VEN TOR 20 9 Ll/l/l/ r/////// [Ill/) /l/ 2 mm IIIV/ll/4I/AI/ I United States Patent 3,500,597 PREFABRICATED HOUSE CONSTRUCTION Duane McKenzie, 53 West 2nd North, Preston, Idaho 83263 Filed Apr. 25, 1968, Ser. No. 724,096 Int. Cl. E04b 7/02; E04d 3/40, 13/00 US. C]. 52-92 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A structure defined by a plurality of prefabricated wall, ceiling and roof units which are adapted to be specifically interlocked or assembled into a house or the like. Each of the wall, ceiling and roof units is of a substantial size, including both facing panels and internal supports so as to, in itself, define a completed segment of the structure which is uniquely adapted to be assembled with adjacent units through nesting type inserts.

The instant invention is generally concerned with building construction, and is more particularly directed toward prefabricated construction wherein wall, ceiling and roof segments are uniquely interlocked so as to define both the complete shell of a building and the internal partitions thereof.

It is a primary object of the instant invention to pro vide a prefabricated house wherein factory assembled panel units are utilized in providing a construction systern wherein an entire structure can be assembled in a matter of hours by relatively unskilled labor due to the internesting nature of the units.

In conjunction with the above object, it is also a significant object of the instant invention to provide preassembled panel units from which both the entire shell of a house including the walls, ceiling and roof, and the internal partitions can be erected in a rapid and simplified manner as compared to conventional on site construction.

Another significant object of the instant invention resides in the utilization of unique unit interlocking systems which enable the formation of a rigid structure without requiring the use of elaborate fasteners, reliance being had substantially solely on the nesting arrangement of the units supplemented by nails or the like.

Another important object of the instant invention resides in the proposed utilization of pre-assembled construction units wherein electrical and plumbing conduits are provided along with fixture outlets and door and Window frames as required whereby upon an assembling of the units, the structure is set to receive the various fixtures as well as the windows and doors.

Basically, the above objects are achieved through the provision of wall, ceiling and roof units with the wall units being hollow core comprising opposed facing panels secured to an internal stud framework providing opposed vertical tongue and groove edges for interlocking with adjacent vertical wall sections. The ceiling and roof units, in each'instance, comprises a single panel, either the ceiling or the roof panel, fixed to supporting beams with the longitudinal edge of one unit having the adjacent beam extending laterally beyond this edge for overlapped engagement with an adjacent similar unit. The ceiling units will be directly supported on the wall units, with the roof units extending from supported engagement with the outer or eaves end of the ceiling panels to a centrally located ridge construction.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the 3,500,597 Patented Mar. 17, 1970 accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective detail illustrating a portion of a prefabricated house incorporating the pre-assembled units of the instant invention;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded perspective view of the various components utilized;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged partial vertical cross-sectional view looking in from the left hand side of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional detail taken substantially upon a plane passing along line 44 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional detail taken substantially on a plane passing along line 55 in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional detail taken substantially on a plane passing along line 66 in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional detail taken substantially on a plane passing along line 7-7 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 8 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the ceiling unit assembly; and

FIGURE 9 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the roof unit assembly.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, reference numeral 10 is used to generally designate a prefabricated building or house constructed in accordance with the instant invention. This prefabricated house 10 basically utilizes pre-assembled exterior and interior wall units 12 and 14, ceiling units 16 and roof units 18.

The assembly of the units 12, 14, 16 and 18 requires a completion of the house floor 20, either with or without a basement area provided therebeneath, with the initial step in the assembly of the house shell comprising a positioning of the exterior and interior wall units 12 and 14. To accommodate and stabilize the wall units 12 and 14, elongated floor plates 22 are nailed directly to the floor 20 along the wall layout, each of these fioor plates 22 having the oposed upper edges thereof chamfered or beveled as at 24 in FIGURE 7 for facilitating the accommodation of the wall units as shall be described presently.

Each of the wall units, whether exterior 12 or interior 14, includes a pair of laterally spaced panels 26, preferably of plywood and 4 feet by 8 feet in size, rigidly affixed, as by gluing or nailing, to the opposed edges of a plurality of 2 inch by 4 inch vertical studs 28. The upper and lower ends of these studs 28 abut 2 inch by 4 inch internal plates 30 which are afiixed to the studs 28 and in turn have the facing panels 26 aflixed thereto. These internal upper and lower plates 30 are to be offset inwardly from the adjoining upper and lower edges of the facing panels 26 so as to define receiving grooves for the mounting plates, both the aforementioined floor plates 22 and wall unit interlocking ceiling plate 32. With reference to FIGURE 7, the manner in which the wall units are received over the floor mounted plates 22 will be appreciated, the floor plate 22 nesting between the opposed face panels 26 and having the lower internal plate 30 seated thereon, after which each wall unit is secured to the floor plate 22 by appropriate driven fasteners. The chamfered longitudinal edges 24 are of substantial assistance in properly aligning and seating the wall units on the floor plates 22.

In order to engage each wall unit 12 or 14 with an adjacent wall unit in the formation of an elongated planar wall, each unit is provided with one of the vertical studs 28 so orientated as the project outwardly beyond one edge of the unit with the projecting portion of the stud 28' having the opposed edges thereof chamfered as at 34 for smooth reception within an edge groove 36 defined in the vertical edge of a similarly constructed adjacent wall unit. This groove is defined by inwardly offsetting the adjacent vertical stud 28", each intermediate wall panel being formed with both a projecting vertical stud formed tongue along one edge thereof and a vertical groove along the opposite edge thereof for the accommodation of the vertical tongue of an adjacent wall unit as illustrated in the left hand portion of FIGURE 6. Once adjacent wall units, whether 12 or 14, have been so interconnected, suitable nails or the like are used in fixing the opposed wall panels 26 which define the vertical groove 36 to the received stud formed tongue. In addition, in the upper horizontal groove defined by the inwardly offset upper internal plates 30, an elongated ceiling plate 32 is positioned, this plate 32 extending along several interlocked wall units andbeing atfixed, as by nails or the like, to the wall units so as to further stabilize and interlock these units. As will be appreciated from FIGURE 4, the lower edges of the ceiling plates 32 are chamfered as at 38 so as to facilitate their introduction into the aligned wall units.

With particular reference to FIGURE 5, when it becomes desirable to run one wall, such as the internal wall or partition 14, at right angles to a seocnd wall, such as the external or outside wall 12, a substantially full height tongue-forming strip 40 is utilized. This strip 40 is nailed, glued or otherwise rigidly afiixed to the inner panel of the unit 12 in alignment with the wall unit 14 and projects inwardly for reception within the vertical edge groove 36 of the unit 14, the reception of the strip 40 within the groove 36 being facilitated by the provision of chamfered edges 42 thereon. The

inner face of the extreme end of a wall unit 12 with:

the second wall unit 12 to be mounted thereon having the outer plywood panel 26 extending a sufiicient distance beyond the member receiving groove 36 so as to completely overlie the outer edge of the first wall unit 12 as. indicated by reference numeral 46. Incidently, the

outer end of the first wall unit 12, rather than having a' groove defined therein, has an abutment forming stud 48 therealong so as to form a solid base end to which the extending portion 46 of the outer panel 26 can be afiixed, thus providing a solid corner construction.

Subsequent to an erection and stabilization of the wall units 12 and 14, the ceiling units 16 are mountedThese ceiling units 16 include, in each instance, a flat ceiling forming panel 50 secured to the lower edges of a plurality of laterally spaced ceiling joist forming beams 52 in any suitable manner. These ceiling units '16 will normally span one-half the width of the house 10, bearing at their outer edges on an outside Wall formed of the units 12, and, at the inner ends thereof, hearing on an appropriate interior bearing partition defined by interlocked interior wall units 14. Each of the ceiling units 16, noting FIGURE 8, has the joist 52' along a first longitudinal edge thereof offset inwardly from the edge so as to define a lip or portion 54 on the panel edge. The joist 52" along the opposite longitudinal edge of the panel 50 is offset outwardly of the edge so as to overhang this edge and seat on the lip portion 54 of an adjacent unit 16 with the panels 50 of the two units abutting each other and providing only a thin line joint therebetween. Once engaged in this manner, the .two adjacent units 16 are to be rigidly fastened together, such as for example by the driving of nails between the two adjacent joists, 52' on one section 16 and 52" on the adjacent section 16, these two joists in fact abutting each other coincident with the abutting of the two panels. In addition to the ceiling units 16 being rigidly fastened together, it will of course be appreciated that these units are also securely nailed to the underlying ceiling plates 32 which are in turn fastened to the appropriate units 12 and 14. Finally, an elongated roof plate 56 is provided transversely across the ceiling joists 52, 52' and 52" toward the outer ends thereof.

The roof units 18, each of which include an enlarged roof panel 58 afiixed in overlying relation to a series of elongated roof rafters 60, will also normally span one-half the width of the house 10. The endmost rafters 60" and 60", as was the case with the joists 52' and 52" are offset relative to the edges of the roof panels 58 so as to enable a longitudinal edge of one panel 58, adjacent the rafter 60 to overlap a seat defined by an outwardly projecting edge rafter 60" on an adjacent roof unit 18. Once overlapped, the roof units 18 are appropriately secured together, for example, by nailing the juxtaposed rafters 60 and 60" to each other. Finally, each of the roof units 18 have all of the rafters thereof provided with seating notches 64 adjacent the lower or outer ends thereof, these notches receiving the elongated roof plate 56 therein for an appropriate stabilized mounting and positioning of the lower ends of the roof units 18.

Over the interior bearing partition is a dou ble ridge board 66 supported in an elevated position by a plurality of uprights 68 affixed thereto and depending therefrom for bearing engagement with the ceiling panels 50- in direct overlying relation to the subjacent interior bearing partition. The'lower ends of the upright 68, for purposes of stability, are to be fastened, as indicated, to the aligned inner ends of the ceiling joists 52 by appropriate fasteners 70. The upper inner end of each of the roof units 18 is provided with a transverse board 72 which seats on the ridge board 66 and is permanently afiixed both to the ridge board 66 and to the board 72 on a corresponding roof unit 18 rising from the opposite side of the building 10. The roof panels 58, forming the upper faces of the unit 18, engage each other along the peak of the roof so as to provide a straight easily sealed line joint therebetween. Once the roof units 18 have been positioned, each overlapping the next across the length of the roof as suggested in FIGURE 9, appropriate internal braces 74 can be provided between the ceiling joists 52 and roof rafters 60. In addition, if so desired, collar braces can be provided between the roof rafters 60 and the ridge board uprights 68 for a further stabilization of the roof structure.

One of the final preassembled units associated with" the prefabricated house 10 of the instant invention is the gable end 76 which will be best appreciated from FIG- URES 1 and 2. This gable end, triangular in shape so as to correspond with one'half of the gable end of the building 10, includes a base plate 78, an inclined gable rafter 80 overlying the base plate 78, vertical gable studs 82 extending between the base plate 78 and gable rafter 80, a facing panel 84 affixed to the outer sides of the members 78, 80 and 82, a second inclined rafter 86 aflixed along the upper edge portion of the face panel 84, and a relatively wider fascia board 88 providing a finished edge along the upper portion of the gable.

It will be appreciated from FIGURE 1 that both the ceiling unit 16 and roof unit 18 immediately adjacent the gable end unit 76 will be slightly modified so as to accommodate the unit 76. For example, the joist adjacent the outer edge of the end ceiling unit 16 will either be eliminated or moved inwardly for the accommodation of the gable unit base plate 78, while the other side edge joist, indicated in this instance by reference numeral 90, will be moved inwardly from the edge a distance so as to engage flush against the gable rafter 80 upon an overlapping of the roof panel 58 over the members 80 and 85 and into engagement against the fascia board 88. Upon a completion of the assembly of the roof units 18 as indicated in FIGURES 1 and 9, the house is ready for the application of any finishing which might be desired, for example, shingling on both the exterior faces of the walls and the roof, and painting or plastering on the interior walls.

In order to provide for as complete a house as possible through the utilization of preassembled units, it is contemplated that the various units themselves, and in particular the exterior units, include insulation within the hollow cores thereof, noting in particular FIGURES 5 and 6. In addition, the various wall units are to incorporate both door and window frames, whereappropriate, or in fact complete preassembled and installed doors and windows. Finally, it is contemplated that the wall, and in fact ceiling units, include both electrical and plumbing conduits and fixtures arranged for quick coupling to similar conduits in adjacent units whereby, upon a completion of the interlocking of adjacent units, continuous plumbing and electrical conduits result, requiring only the appropriate installation of the various plumbing fixtures and the bringing of the electrical current to the house in conjunction with the necessary water service.

Incidentally, while not specifically illustrated, it would be appreciated that the gable unit opposite from that illustrated in FIGURE 1 will be a substantial duplicate thereof, mounted either prior or subsequent to the last roof unit 18. Further, both gable units will, although not illustrated, preferably be provided with louvered ventilating openings.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In a prefabricated building, preassembled wall units, ceiling units and roof units, each of said units including a structural framework of laterally spaced elongated beam-like members and at least one facing panel secured to said members and defining a surface area of said building, said wall units being vertically orientatable, means for interlocking said wall units to each other at substantially right angles to each other, said ceiling units being positionable horizontally in overlying supported relation on said wall units with the ceiling unit panels facing downwardly, said roof units, being positionab e in overlying relation to said ceiling units at an upwardly directed angle thereto to define a pitched roof, said roof unit panels facing upwardly, roof unit stabilizing means engageable with the ceiling units and the lower end portions of the roof units for locking said roof units to said ceiling units, and roof unit support means engaged between the ceiling units and the upper end portions of the roof units to provide an elevated support therefor, each wall unit including a pair of opposed panels secured to the opposite sides of the framework members, said members terminating short of the upper and lower ends of said panels so as to define upper and lower grooves, and upper and lower wall unit stabilizing plates insertable within said upper and lower grooves of adjacent aligned wall units for a locking of said adjacent units together, said wall units defining a first outside wall and a second wall parallel thereto and. laterally spaced therefrom, said ceiling units spanning said defined walls with a first end of the ceiling units overlying the first wall and the second end of the ceiling units overlying the second wall, the members of said ceiling units extending perpendicularly to said walls, said roof unit stabilizing means comprising a plate extending transversely across and being rigidly aflixed directly to the top of said ceiling unit members adjacent said first wall, said roof units being orientated with the members thereof in generally parallel vertical planes with the ceiling members, each roof member including a downwardly directed notch in the bottom thereof toward the outer end thereof, said notches seating over and receiving said last-mentioned plate.

2. The construction of claim 1 wherein each ceiling unit has one of the members thereon located along an edge of the corresponding panel, this one member projecting laterally beyond the edge so as to overlap the free edge portion of a panel of an adjacent ceiling unit, and means for affixing this one member to the overlapped panel, each roof unit having one of the members thereon located along an edge of the corresponding panel, this one member projecting laterally beyond the edge so as to overlap the free edge portion of a panel of an adjacent roof unit, and means for affixing this one member to the overlapped panel, and means for interlocking said wall units comprising, on each wall unit, a projecting substantially full height tongue along one edge portion thereof and a recessed tongue receiving groove along substantially the full height of the other edge portion thereof, said tongue, in selected ones of said wall units, comprising a projecting portion of an edge mounted one of said elongated framework members.

3. The construction of claim 2 wherein said roof unit support means comprises an elevated ridge beam underlying the upper ends of the roof units, and support studs afiixed to said roof beam and depending therefrom into supported engagement on the underlying ceiling units, and means securing the lower ends of said studs to the underlying ceiling units.

4. The construction of claim 3 including a gable end unit, said gable unit including a base plate positionable on and along one edge of the subjacent ceiling unit panel, a rafter member overlying said base plate and angling upward from one end thereof, a panel secured to said rafter member and said base plate along the full length thereof, and a fascia member coextensive with said rafter member and secured to the outer face of the panel engaged with the rafter member, the upper surface of said gable end unit being adapted to receive and support the adjacent edge portion of a roof unit.

5. The construction of claim 2 wherein said tongues and said upper and lower wall unit received plates are provided with chamfered edges for ease of insertion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 305,584 9/ 1884 Forrest 5292 794,595 7/1905 Ducker 5292 1,372,206 3/1921 Stadelman 5292 2,129,441 9/1938 Otto 5290 2,396,828 3/1946 Carpenter 5292 2,602,968 7/1952 Simon 5290 X 2,947,041 8/1960 Imbrecht 52241 X ALFRED C. PERHAM, Primary Examiner US. 01. X.R. 52 94, 629 

